Method and apparatus for determining zero-crossing of an ac input voltage to a power supply

ABSTRACT

An example controller for a power supply includes a first circuit and a drive signal generator. The first circuit receives a first signal representative of a switch current flowing through a switch of the power supply and then generates a second signal in response the switch current not reaching a current threshold within an amount of time. The second signal indicates when a dimming circuit at an input of the power supply is utilized. The drive signal generator generates a drive signal to control switching of the switch in response to the second signal, where energy is transferred across an energy transfer element of the power supply in response to the switching of the switch.

REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/703,095, filed Feb. 9, 2010. U.S. application Ser. No. 12/703,095 is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to power supplies, and more specifically to controllers for switched mode power supplies.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Electronic devices use power to operate. Switched mode power supplies are commonly used due to their high efficiency, small size and low weight to power many of today's electronics. Conventional wall sockets provide a high voltage alternating current. In a switching power supply a high voltage alternating current (ac) input is converted to provide a well regulated direct current (dc) output through an energy transfer element. The switched mode power supply control circuit usually provides output regulation by sensing the output and controlling it in a closed loop. In operation, a switch is utilized to provide the desired output by varying the duty cycle (typically the ratio of the on time of the switch to the total switching period) of the switch in a switched mode power supply.

Requirements such as efficiency, size, weight and cost are usually taken into account when designing a switched mode power supply. Typically, the controller which controls the switching of the switched mode power supply is designed as an integrated circuit with various terminals which may function as input terminals, output terminals or both. When the switch of a switched mode power supply is integrated with the controller, two terminals of the integrated circuit correspond to the two ends of the switch. Various terminals of the integrated circuit may be utilized as the feedback terminal, a function program terminal, or an input voltage sense terminal for the controller. For some applications of the switched mode power supply, the ac input voltage is sensed to determine the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage. In general, the ac input voltage is herein also referred to as the line input voltage. The zero-crossing generally refers to when the ac input voltage crosses zero voltage. In other words, the zero-crossing refers to when the magnitude of the ac input voltage changes sign from positive to negative or from negative to positive. The zero-crossing of the line input voltage may be used for various applications. The zero-crossing of the line input voltage maybe used to determine the ac line frequency or it may be used to update the internal clock of a controller of a power supply.

In one type of dimming for lighting applications, a triac dimmer circuit typically removes a portion of the ac input voltage to limit the amount of voltage and current supplied to an incandescent lamp. This is known as phase dimming because it is often convenient to designate the position of the missing voltage in terms of a fraction of the period of the ac input voltage measured in degrees. In general, the ac input voltage is a sinusoidal waveform and the period of the ac input voltage is referred to as a full line cycle. As such, half the period of the ac input voltage is referred to as a half line cycle. An entire period of the ac input voltage has 360 degrees, and a half line cycle has 180 degrees. Typically, the phase angle is a measure of how many degrees (from a reference of zero degrees) of each half line cycle the dimmer circuit removes. Although phase angle dimming works well with incandescent lamps that receive the altered ac line voltage directly, it typically creates problems for light emitting diode (LED) lamps. LED lamps require a regulated power supply to provide regulated current and voltage from the ac power line. Conventional regulated power supplies are typically designed to ignore distortions of the ac input voltage. Their purpose is to deliver a constant regulated output until a low input voltage causes them to shut off completely. As such, conventional regulated power supplies would not dim the LED lamp. Unless a power supply for an LED lamp is specially designed to recognize and respond to the voltage from a triac dimmer circuit in a desirable way, a triac dimmer is likely to produce unacceptable results such as flickering of the LED lamp, flashing of the LED lamp at high phase angles, and color shifting of the LED lamp. Thus, a power supply may include an improved conventional power supply controller that is designed to respond to a triac dimmer circuit by directly sensing the ac input voltage to determine when the ac input voltage is cut-off due to the dimming circuit. The ac input voltage is directly sensed with circuitry external from the integrated circuit of the conventional controller. The sensed ac input voltage may be received by the integrated circuit of the improved conventional controller at an additional terminal dedicated to receiving the sensed ac input voltage or at a multifunction terminal in conjunction with external circuitry. Additional terminals, however, add unwanted cost and size to the conventional controller of the switched mode power supply and circuitry external to the integrated circuit of the conventional controller adds cost to the switched mode power supply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of several embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example switching power supply utilizing a controller in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example rectified input voltage waveform of the switching power supply of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a portion of the example rectified input voltage of FIG. 2A and corresponding zero-crossing signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example switch current waveform of a switching power supply operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example switch current waveform of a switching power supply operating in DCM and corresponding zero-crossing signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating another example of the switch current waveform of a switching power supply operating in DCM and corresponding zero-crossing signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example switch current waveform and corresponding zero-crossing signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example switching power supply utilizing a dimmer circuit and a controller in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example rectified input voltage waveform of the switching power supply of FIG. 6 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating a portion of the example rectified input voltage of FIG. 7A and corresponding zero-crossing signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating another example rectified input voltage waveform of a switching power supply in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a portion of the example rectified input voltage of FIG. 8A and corresponding zero-crossing signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a functional block diagram of a controller in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9B is a functional block diagram of an on-time extension block of the controller of FIG. 9A in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating various waveforms of signals of the controller and on-time extension block of FIGS. 9A and 9B in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of a method and apparatus for determining the zero-crossing of an ac input voltage to a power supply are described herein. In the following description numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the techniques described herein can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring certain aspects.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “one example” or “an example” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, “one example” or “an example” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable combinations and/or subcombinations in one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, it is appreciated that the figures provided herewith are for explanation purposes to persons ordinarily skilled in the art and that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

For some applications of switched mode power supplies, the dc input voltage is sensed to determine the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage. For phase dimming applications, including those for light emitting diodes (LEDs), the duration of the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage would be sensed by a power supply controller. Determining the duration of the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage would indicate to the power supply controller that a dimmer circuit is being utilized and hence alter the quantity to the output of the power supply is regulated. Typically, the ac input voltage is directly sensed with circuitry external to the integrated circuit of the conventional controller designed to respond to a dimmer circuit. The sensed ac input voltage may be received by the integrated circuit of the conventional controller at a terminal dedicated to receiving the sensed ac input voltage or at another terminal which performs multiple functions. Additional terminals, however, add unwanted cost and size to the conventional controller of the switched mode power supply. Circuitry external to the integrated circuit of the conventional controller also adds cost to the switched mode power supply. With the embodiments of the present invention, the input voltage may be indirectly sensed by using the current through the switch of the switched mode power supply. As a result, using the terminal already used for one end of the switch also to indirectly sense the ac input voltage would remove the need for a terminal dedicated just to sensing the ac input voltage and would also eliminate the need for external circuitry for sensing the ac input voltage. That is, embodiments of the present invention may indirectly detect input voltage zero-crossing to omit or exclude conventional terminals that are dedicated to the direct sensing of the ac input voltage of the switched mode power supply.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a functional block diagram of an example switching power supply 100 is illustrated including ac input voltage V_(AC) 102, a bridge rectifier 104, rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106, an energy transfer element T1 108, a primary winding 110 of the energy transfer element T1 108, a secondary winding 112 of the energy transfer element T1 108, a switch S1 114, an input return 116, a clamp circuit 118, a filter capacitor C_(F) 120, a rectifier D1 122, an output capacitor C1 124, an output quantity U_(O), an output voltage V_(O), an output current I_(O), a feedback circuit 128, a feedback signal U_(FB) 130, a controller 138, a drive signal 140, a current sense input signal 142, and switch current I_(D) 144. Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a load 126 coupled to the switching power supply 100. The example switching power supply 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is configured generally as a flyback regulator, which is one example of a switching power supply topology which may benefit from the teachings of the present invention. However, it is appreciated that other known topologies and configurations of switching power supply regulators may also benefit from the teachings of the present invention.

The switching power supply 100 provides output power to the load 126 from an unregulated input voltage. In one example, the input voltage is the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. In another example, the input voltage is a rectified ac input voltage such as rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. As shown, bridge rectifier 104 receives the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and produces the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. The bridge rectifier 104 further couples to the energy transfer element T1 108. In some embodiments of the present invention, the energy transfer element T1 108 may be a coupled inductor. In other embodiments, the energy transfer element T1 108 may be a transformer. In the example of FIG. 1, the energy transfer element T1 108 includes two windings, a primary winding 110 and a secondary winding 112. However, it should be appreciated that the energy transfer element T1 108 may have more than two windings. The primary winding 110 is further coupled to switch S1 114, which is then further coupled to input return 116. In one embodiment, the switch S1 114 may be a transistor such as a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). In another example, controller 138 may be implemented as a monolithic integrated circuit or may be implemented with discrete electrical components or a combination of discrete and integrated components. Controller 138 and switch S1 114 could form part of an integrated circuit 146 that is manufactured as either a hybrid or monolithic integrated circuit.

In addition, the clamp circuit 118 is illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 1 as being coupled across the primary winding 110 of the energy transfer element T1 108. The filter capacitor C_(F) 120 may couple across the primary winding 110 and switch S1 114. In other words, the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 may couple to the bridge rectifier 104 and input return 116. Secondary winding 112 of the energy transfer element T1 108 is coupled to the rectifier D1 122. In the example of FIG. 1, the rectifier D1 122 is exemplified as a diode. However, in some embodiments the rectifier D1 122 may be a transistor used as a synchronous rectifier. Both the output capacitor C1 124 and the load 124 are shown in FIG. 1 as being coupled to the rectifier D1 122. An output is provided to the load 126 and may be provided as either a regulated output voltage V_(O), regulated output current I_(O), or a combination of the two.

The switched mode power supply 100 further comprises circuitry to regulate the output which is exemplified as output quantity U_(O). In general, the regulated output quantity U_(O) is either an output voltage V_(O), output current I_(O), or a combination of the two. A feedback circuit 128 is coupled to sense the output quantity U_(O) of the switched mode power supply 100 and produces the feedback signal U_(FB) 130. In other embodiments, the feedback signal U_(FB) 130 may be derived from sensing one or more quantities on the input side of the transformer that are representative of the output quantity U_(O). The feedback circuit 128 is further coupled to a terminal of the controller 138 such that the controller 138 receives the feedback signal U_(FB) 130. The controller 138 further includes a terminal for receiving the current sense input signal 142. The current sense input signal 142 is representative of the switch current I_(D) 144 in the switch S1 114. In addition, the switch S1 114 receives the drive signal 140 from the controller 138.

In operation, the switching power supply 100 of FIG. 1 provides output power to the load 126 from an unregulated input such as the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. The ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is received by the bridge rectifier 104 and produces the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. The filter capacitor C_(F) 120 filters the high frequency current from the switch S1 114. For other applications, the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 may be large enough such that a dc voltage is applied to the energy transfer element T1 108. However for power supplies with power factor correction (PFC), a small filter capacitor C_(F) 120 may be utilized to allow the voltage applied to the energy transfer element T1 108 to substantially follow the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. As such the value of the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 may be chosen such that the voltage on the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 reaches substantially zero during each half-line cycle of the input line voltage. Or in other words, the voltage on the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 substantially follows the positive magnitude of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. As a result, the zero-crossing condition may be detected by the controller 138. In addition, as will be further discussed, the on-time extension utilized by the controller 138 removes more charge from the filter capacitor C_(F) 120. As a result, the discharging of the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 helps to pull down the voltage at the primary winding 110 which may help the controller 138 to detect the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102.

The switching power supply 100 utilizes the energy transfer element T1 108 to transfer voltage between the primary 110 and the secondary 112 windings. The clamp circuit 118 is coupled to the primary winding 110 to limit the maximum voltage on the switch S1 114. Switch S1 114 is opened and closed in response to the drive signal 140. It is generally understood that a switch that is closed may conduct current and is considered on, while a switch that is open cannot conduct current and is considered off. In some embodiments, the switch S1 114 may be a transistor and the switch S1 114 and the controller 138 may form part of integrated circuit 146. In operation, the switching of the switch S1 114 produces a pulsating current at the rectifier D1 122. The current in the rectifier D1 122 is filtered by the output capacitor C1 124 to produce a substantially constant output voltage V_(O), output current I_(O), or a combination of the two at the load 126. In some embodiments, the load 126 is an LED array.

The feedback circuit 128 senses the output quantity U_(O) of the power supply 100 to provide the feedback signal U_(FB) 130 to the controller 138. The feedback signal U_(FB) 130 may be a voltage signal or a current signal and provides information regarding the output quantity U_(O) to the controller 138. In addition, the controller 138 receives the current sense input signal 142 which relays the switch current I_(D) 144 in the switch S1 114. The switch current I_(D) 144 may be sensed in a variety of ways, such for example the voltage across a discrete resistor or the voltage across a transistor when the transistor is conducting. The controller 138 utilizes the switch current I_(D) 144 indicated by the current sense input signal 142 to determine zero-crossing of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. As will be discussed further, the controller 138 then generates a zero-crossing signal which represents information regarding the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. The zero-crossing signal may be used to calibrate the internal frequency of the controller or to determine when a phase dimming circuit is utilized.

The controller 138 outputs a drive signal 140 to operate the switch S1 114 in response to various system inputs to substantially regulate the output quantity U_(O) to the desired value. In one embodiment, the drive signal 140 may be a rectangular pulse waveform with varying lengths of logic high and logic low sections, with the logic high value corresponding to a closed switch and a logic low corresponding to an open switch.

Referring next to FIG. 2A, a diagram of an example waveform of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 of the switching power supply of FIG. 1 is illustrated including a half line cycle 202, a zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204, peak voltage V_(P) 205, and a portion 206. FIG. 2B illustrates the portion 206 of the example rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 and the corresponding zero-crossing signal 208.

In general, the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is a sinusoidal waveform with the period of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 referred to as a full line cycle. Mathematically: V_(AC)(t)=V_(P) sin(2πf_(L)t). Where V_(P) 205 is the peak voltage of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and f_(L), is the frequency of the line input voltage. Or in other words, f_(L), is the line frequency of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. It should be appreciated that the full line cycle is the reciprocal of the line frequency f_(L), or mathematically: full line cycle=1/f_(L). As mentioned above, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is the resultant output of the bridge rectifier 104 when the input to the bridge rectifier 104 is the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. For the example rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 shown in FIG. 2A, the bridge rectifier 104 has converted the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 such that the output of the bridge rectifier 104 is of a positive magnitude, or mathematically: V_(RECT)=|V_(AC)|=|V_(P) sin(2πf_(L)t)|. As a result, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 repeats every half line cycle 202. FIG. 2A also illustrates the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204. For some embodiments, the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 is substantially equal to zero. For other embodiments, the zero-crossing voltage V_(ZC) 204 is substantially one fifth of the peak voltage V_(P) 205 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. For example, if the peak voltage V_(P) 205 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is substantially equal to 125 V, the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 is substantially equal to 25 V. In another embodiment, the zero-crossing voltage V_(ZC) 204 is substantially one fourth of the peak voltage V_(P) 205 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. It should be appreciated that as the value of the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 is closer to zero voltage, the more accurate the zero-crossing signal 208. However, the closer the value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is to zero voltage the more difficult it may be for embodiments of controller 138 to sense the value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106. In particular, the controller 138 may have some difficulty sensing the value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 through the switch current I_(D) 144 provided by the current sense input signal 142 when the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is at or near zero voltage. As such embodiments of controller 138 may have a non-zero value for the zero-crossing threshold voltage V_(ZC) 204 to allow the sensing of the zero-crossing condition when the value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is at or near zero voltage. In addition, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 may not reach zero due in part to the selected value of the filter capacitor C_(F) 120.

FIG. 2B illustrates the portion 206 of the example rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 and the corresponding zero-crossing signal 208. The controller 138 indirectly senses the value of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 to produce the zero-crossing signal 208. When the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is less than the zero-crossing voltage threshold 204, the zero-crossing signal 208 changes to a state which indicates a zero-crossing condition exists. The zero-crossing signal 208 does not change from that state until the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is greater than the zero-crossing voltage threshold 204. For the example shown in FIG. 2B, the zero-crossing signal 208 is a rectangular pulse waveform with logic high and logic low sections. When the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is less than the zero-crossing voltage threshold 204, the value of the zero-crossing signal 208 is logic high. When the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is greater than the zero-crossing voltage threshold 204, the value of the zero-crossing signal 208 is logic low. The length of time which the zero-crossing signal 208 indicates the zero-crossing condition exists is denoted as the zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) 210. For the example shown in FIG. 2B, the zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) denotes the length of time when the zero-crossing signal 208 is logic high.

The rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 shown in FIG. 2A is the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 with a positive magnitude, or mathematically: V_(RECT)=|V_(AC)|=sin(2πf_(L)t)|. The time during which the value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is near zero voltage corresponds to when the value of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is close to crossing zero voltage hence the term zero-crossing. In other words, detecting when the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is near zero voltage corresponds to detecting when the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 crosses zero voltage. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 is less than the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 the zero-crossing signal 208 pulses high to indicate the zero-crossing condition to the controller 138. In other words, when −V_(ZC)<V_(AC)(t)<V_(ZC), the zero-crossing signal 208 pulses high to indicate the zero-crossing condition. For embodiments of the present invention, the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is indirectly sensed by using the switch current I_(D) 144.

The switch current of various modes of operation is illustrated in FIG. 3. A diagram of an example switch current waveform of the switched mode power supply of FIG. 1 is illustrated including switching period T_(S) 304, a switch on-time t_(ON) 306, a switch off-time t_(OFF) 308, trapezoidal shape 310 and triangular shape 312. FIG. 3 illustrates the general waveforms of the switch current I_(D) 302 with respect to time when the controller is operating in both continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). The general waveforms of switch current I_(D) 302 represent examples of the switch current I_(D) 144 illustrated in FIG. 1.

During any switching period T_(S) 304, switch S1 114 may conduct in response to the drive signal 140 from the controller 138 to regulate the output quantity U_(O). The switching period T_(S) 304 may be separated into two sections of time: switch on-time t_(ON) 306 and switch off-time t_(OFF) 308. Switch on-time t_(ON) 306 denotes the portion of the switching period T_(S) 304 where the switch S1 114 may conduct. Switch off-time t_(OFF) 308 denotes the remaining portion of the switching period T_(S) 304 when the switch S1 114 cannot conduct. The current waveform of FIG. 3 illustrates two fundamental modes of operation. The trapezoidal shape 310 is characteristic of continuous conduction mode (CCM) whereas the triangular shape 312 is characteristic of discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). During CCM, the switch current I_(D) 302 is substantially non-zero immediately after the start of the switch on-time t_(ON) 306. At DCM, the switch current I_(D) 302 is substantially zero immediately after the beginning of the switch on-time t_(ON) 306. During the switch off-time t_(OFF) 308, the switch current I_(D) 302 is substantially zero for both CCM and DCM. The switching power supply 100 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may operate in either CCM or DCM.

Referring next to FIG. 4A, a diagram of an example switch current waveform and resultant zero-crossing signal 432 is illustrated including switch current I_(D) 144, a current limit threshold I_(LIM) 402, a zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404, switching cycles T⁻² 406 through T₈ 426, and zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) 434. FIG. 4A demonstrates one example of the general waveform of switch current I_(D) 144 over time when the power supply 100 is operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). In general, each of the switching cycles T⁻² 406 through T₈ 426 has a switching period of T_(S) 304. In some embodiments of the present invention, the switching period of T_(S) 304 may be a constant length of time. In other embodiment of the present invention, the controller 138 may vary the length of the switching period T_(S) 304. In further embodiments of the present invention, the switching period T_(S) 304

$\left( {{{and}\mspace{14mu}{hence}\mspace{14mu}{the}\mspace{14mu}{switching}\mspace{14mu}{frequency}\mspace{14mu} f_{s}\mspace{14mu}{where}\mspace{14mu} f_{s}} = \frac{1}{T_{s}}} \right)$ and the intended switch on-time t_(ON) 306 are all maintained constant for one half line cycle 202.

For embodiments of the present invention, the controller 138 utilizes the switch current I_(D) 144 to determine when the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 has crossed zero voltage. FIG. 4A illustrates an example of the switch current I_(D) 144 over several switching cycles T⁻² 406 through T₈ 426. The current limit threshold I_(LIM) 402 is the maximum current permitted of the switch S1 114. If the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the current limit threshold I_(LIM) 402, the switch S1 114 turns off for the remainder of the switching cycle. When the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 by a certain amount of time, a possible zero-crossing condition may exist.

It should be appreciated that N is the number of consecutive switching cycles which the controller 138 detects as a possible zero-crossing condition before determining that the zero-crossing condition does exist and the zero-crossing signal 432 changes from a state indicating no zero-crossing condition to a state which indicates the zero-crossing condition. In addition, when the zero-crossing signal 432 is indicating that the zero-crossing condition exists, the controller waits N consecutive switching cycles to allow the controller 138 to decide that the zero-crossing condition does not exist before the controller 138 changes the state of the zero-crossing signal 432 to indicate no zero-crossing condition. The controller 138 may wait the N consecutive switching cycles to account for any noise ringing which could lead to a false detection of the zero-crossing condition. For example, if N is equal to 4 (as shown in FIG. 4B), the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition exists when a possible zero-crossing condition occurs for 4 consecutive switching cycles. In another example, if N is equal to 1 (as shown in FIG. 4A), the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition exists at the first instance of a possible zero-crossing condition. The value of N may be chosen in part due to the amount of expected noise at the input of the power supply 100. The lower the value of N, the more quickly the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition does or does not exist, however, the determination of the zero-crossing condition may be more susceptible to noise at the input of the power supply 100. As such, the zero-crossing signal 432 may falsely indicate a zero-crossing condition or falsely indicate no zero-crossing condition of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. However, the value of N should not be so large that the controller 138 can not detect that the zero-crossing condition exists because the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 has fallen below the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 and then risen above the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 before the value of N is reached.

In one embodiment, a logic low value of the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates no zero-crossing condition exists while a logic high value of the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates that the zero-crossing condition exists. In another embodiment, a logic high value of the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates no zero-crossing condition exists while a logic low value of the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates that the zero-crossing condition exists.

For the example shown in FIG. 4A, N is equal to 1 and the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition exists at the first instance of a possible zero-crossing condition and changes the state of the zero-crossing signal 432 during the same switching cycle. In the example of FIG. 4A, the zero-crossing signal 432 changes to a state indicating the zero-crossing condition when the switch S1 114 turns off and switch current I_(D) 144 falls to zero current. At switching cycles T⁻² 406, T⁻¹ 408, and T₀ 410, the switch current I_(D) 144 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and as a result no zero-crossing condition is detected by the controller 138. For the example of FIG. 4A, when there is no zero-crossing condition, the zero-crossing signal 432 is a logic low value. However, at switching cycle T₁ 412, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 within a certain amount of time. Since N is equal to 1 in the example of FIG. 4A, the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition exists for the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. As a result the zero-crossing signal 432 changes to the state which indicates the zero-crossing condition during switching cycle T₁ 412. For the example of FIG. 4A, when the zero-crossing condition exists, the zero-crossing signal 432 is a logic high value.

For switching cycles T₂ 414 through T₆ 422, the switch current I_(D) 144 still does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 continues to exist. As a result the zero-crossing signal 432 remains at the logic high value. At switching cycle T₇ 424, the switch current I_(D) 144 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and the controller 138 determines that no zero-crossing condition exists. Since N is equal to 1, the zero-crossing signal 432 changes to the logic low value during switching cycle T₇ 424. For the example of FIG. 4A, the zero-crossing signal 432 changes to a state indicating no zero-crossing condition when the switch S1 114 turns off during switching cycle T₇ 424 and switch current I_(D) 144 falls to zero current. As shown in FIG. 4A, the zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) 434 is the length of time which the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates the zero-crossing condition exists and is at the logic high value.

Referring next to FIG. 4B, another diagram of the example switch current waveform and resultant zero-crossing signal 432 is illustrated including switch current I_(D) 144, current limit threshold I_(LIM) 402, zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404, switching cycles T₀ 410 through T₁₀ 430, zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) 434, and delay time t_(X) 436. FIG. 4B demonstrates one example of the general waveform of switch current I_(D) 144 over time when the power supply 100 is operating in DCM. FIG. 4B also illustrates the same switch current I_(D) 144 a shown in FIG. 4A, however, for FIG. 4B N is equal to 4 and FIG. 4B shows switching cycles T₀ through T₁₀ (rather than switching cycles T⁻² through T₈ as shown in FIG. 4A). The controller 138 waits 4 consecutive switching cycles after a possible zero-crossing condition before determining that the zero-crossing condition does exist and the zero-crossing signal 432 changes state to indicate the zero-crossing condition. In addition, when the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates the zero-crossing condition exists, the controller 138 waits 4 consecutive switching cycles with no zero-crossing condition before the controller 138 changes the state of the zero-crossing signal 432 to indicate no zero-crossing condition. The controller 138 waits for 4 consecutive switching cycles to account for any noise ringing and to ensure that the zero-crossing condition does exist. Although FIG. 4B illustrates N as being equal to 4, N may be any positive integer. However, it should be appreciated that the value of N should not be so large that the controller 138 can not detect that the zero-crossing condition exists because the switch current I_(D) 144 has fallen below the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and then risen above zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 before the value of N is reached.

At switching cycle T₀ 410, the switch current I_(D) 144 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and as a result the controller 138 does not determine the zero-crossing condition exists and the zero-crossing signal 432 remains at the logic low value. During switching cycle T₁ 412, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 within a certain amount of time and the controller 138 determines that a possible zero-crossing condition exists, however, the zero-crossing signal 432 still remains at the logic low value since the controller 138 waits 4 consecutive switching cycles of possible zero-crossing conditions before determining that the zero-crossing condition exists. From the example of FIG. 4B, switch current I_(D) 144 also does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 within a certain amount of time for switching cycles T₂ 414 through T₄ 418. Switching cycle T₄ 418 is the fourth consecutive switching cycle which a possible zero-crossing condition exists. As such the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition does exist for the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and the zero-crossing signal 432 changes to the state which indicates that the zero-crossing condition exists. For the example shown in FIG. 4B, the zero-crossing signal 432 transitions from the logic low value to the logic high value. However, the zero-crossing signal 432 does not transition to the logic high value until the end of the delay time t_(X) 436. The delay time t_(X) 436 denotes the length of time between the controller 138 determining the zero-crossing condition does exist and the controller 138 updating the zero-crossing signal 432. In one embodiment, the delay time t_(X) 436 for the zero-crossing signal to update may be due to the filter used to implement the number N. In a further embodiment, the delay time t_(X) 436 may delay the zero-crossing signal 432 from updating until the next switching cycle. Referring back to FIG. 4A, the delay time t_(X) 436 is substantially equal to zero. For embodiments of the present invention, a delay time t_(X) 436 of zero may be preferred. However, embodiments of controller 138 that include a delay time t_(X) 436 of zero may require additional circuitry (not shown). Thus, some embodiments of controller 138 may include a non-zero delay time t_(X) 436 to reduce costs and/or circuit complexity.

For switching cycles T₅ 420 and T₆ 422, the switch current I_(D) 144 still does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and the controller determines that the zero-crossing condition of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 continues to exist and the zero-crossing signal 432 remains at the logic high value. At switching cycle T₇ 424, the switch current I_(D) 144 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 indicating that the zero-crossing condition of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 may no longer exist, however, the controller 138 waits 4 consecutive switching cycles which the switch current I_(D) 144 indicates that the zero-crossing condition may no longer exist before determining that the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is no longer in the zero-crossing condition. For switching cycles T₈ 426 through T₁₀ 430, the switch current I_(D) exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404. Switching cycle T₁₀ 430 is the fourth consecutive switching cycle which the zero-crossing condition may no longer exist and the controller 138 determines that there is no zero-crossing condition. As a result the zero-crossing signal 432 changes to the state which indicates that no zero-crossing condition exists. However, the zero-crossing signal 432 does not transition to the logic low value until the end of the delay time t_(X) 436. The delay time t_(X) 436 denotes the length of time between the controller 138 determining that there is no zero-crossing condition and the controller 138 updating the zero-crossing signal 432. In a further embodiment, the delay time t_(X) 436 may delay the zero-crossing signal 432 from updating until the next switching cycle. As shown in FIG. 4B, the zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) 434 is the length of time which the zero-crossing signal 432 indicates the zero-crossing condition exists.

Referring next to FIG. 5, another diagram of the example switch current waveform and resultant zero-crossing signal 532 is illustrated including switch current I_(D) 144, a zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504, a zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506, switching cycles T_(M) 508 through T_(M+3) 514, and zero-crossing pulse width T_(Z) 534. In addition, during each switching cycle T_(M) 508 through T_(M+3) 514, there is an on-time t_(ON) and an extended on-time t_(ONX) of the switch S1 114. In general, each of the switching cycles T_(M) 508 through T_(M+3) 514 has a switching period of T_(S) 304. In some embodiments of the present invention, the switching period of T_(S) 304 may be a constant length of time. In other embodiment of the present invention, the controller 138 may vary the length of the switching period T_(S) 304. For the example zero-crossing signal 532 shown in FIG. 5, the value of N is 2 and the delay time t_(X) is substantially equal to zero.

In one embodiment, the controller 138 also utilizes on-time extension of the switch S1 114 to determine if the zero-crossing condition exists for the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. The controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition exists when the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 within the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. When the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 during the initial on-time t_(ON) of the switch S1 114, the controller 138 extends the on-time t_(ON) until the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 is reached or until the extended on-time t_(ONX) reaches the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. The amount of time which the on-time t_(ON) is extended by is referred to as the extended on-time t_(ONX). For some embodiments, the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 is substantially equal to 5 μs. When choosing the value of the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506, the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 should be longer than the smallest intended on-time t_(ON) yet not be significantly longer than the switching period of T_(S) 304. In general, the controller 138 may more accurately sense the switch current I_(D) 144 with larger values of the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506.

At switching cycle T_(M) 508, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 within the initial on-time t_(ON) of the switch S1 114. Instead of turning the switch S1 114 off, the switch S1 114 remains on and the on-time t_(ON) of the switch is extended until the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 or the sum of the on-time t_(ON) and the extended on-time t_(ONX) reaches the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. For switching cycle T_(M) 508, the on-time t_(ON) is extended by extended on-time t_(ONX), however, the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 before the sum of the on-time t_(ON) and the extended on-time t_(ONX) reaches the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. As a result the switch S1 114 is turned off when the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 and the switch current I_(D) 144 falls to substantially zero. The controller 138 does not detect the zero-crossing condition and as a result the zero-crossing signal 532 indicates no zero-crossing condition.

At switching cycle T_(M+1) 510, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 within the initial on-time t_(ON) and the controller 138 extends the on-time t_(ON) by extended on-time t_(ONX). As illustrated, the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 during the extended on-time t_(ONX). Unlike switching cycle T_(M) 508, the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 when the sum of the on-time t_(ON) and the extended on-time t_(ONX) substantially equals the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. The controller 138 does not detect the zero-crossing condition and the zero-crossing signal 532 remains at the logic low value.

At switching cycle T_(M+2) 512, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 within the initial on-time t_(ON) and the controller 138 extends the on-time t_(ON) by extended on-time t_(ONX). As mentioned above, the controller 138 turns the switch S1 114 off when the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 is reached and the switch current I_(D) 144 is less than the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 within the initial on-time t_(ON) and the controller 138 extends the on-time of the switch S1 114. The on-time t_(ON) is extended until the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 or the extended on-time t_(ONX) reaches the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. For switching cycle T_(M+2) 512, the extended on-time t_(ONX) reaches the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 before the switch current 144 reaches the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504. As a result, the controller 138 determines that a possible zero-crossing condition may exist. However, the zero-crossing signal 532 does not change states since the controller 138 waits 2 consecutive switching cycles of possible zero-crossing conditions before determining that the zero-crossing condition exists.

At switching cycle T_(M+3) 514, the switch current I_(D) 144 again does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 within the initial on-time t_(ON) and the controller 138 further extends the on-time t_(ON) by extended on-time t_(ONX). Similar to switching cycle T_(M+2) 512, the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 before the extended on-time t_(ONX) reaches the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. In addition, switching cycle T_(M+3) 514 is, thus, the second consecutive switching cycle with a possible zero-crossing condition. As a result the controller 138 determines that the zero-crossing condition exists and the zero-crossing signal 532 changes state.

The zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 and the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 are chosen to correspond to the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204. As mentioned above, the controller 138 detects the zero-crossing condition when the switch current I_(D) 144 does not reach the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 by the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506. The zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 and the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 are fixed such that the zero-crossing condition corresponds to the value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 106 falling below the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204. In other words, the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 and the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 are fixed such that the zero-crossing condition corresponds to the value of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 falling between the positive zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 and the negative zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204, or mathematically: −V _(ZC) <V _(AC)(t)<V _(ZC).

The relationship between voltage and current of the switch S1 114 when the switch S1 114 is ON may be expressed as:

${{V(t)} = {L_{P}\frac{\mathbb{d}{i(t)}}{\mathbb{d}t}}},$ where L_(P) is the inductance of the primary winding 110. For power supplies operating in DCM, this relationship during any switching cycle may be further expressed as:

${V_{A\; C} = {L_{P}\frac{I_{PEAK}}{t_{ON}}}},$ where I_(PEAK) is the peak value of the switch current I_(D) 144. However, in one switching cycle the value of V_(AC) may be considered a constant since the on-time t_(ON) is small relative to the period of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. As mentioned above, the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 504 and the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 are fixed and chosen to correspond to the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204 utilizing the relationship between voltage and current of the switch S1 114 when the switch S1 114 is ON in DCM, or mathematically:

$V_{ZC} = {L_{P}{\frac{I_{ZC}}{t_{ZC}}.}}$

The longer the switch S1 114 is ON, the more charge is removed from the filter capacitor C_(F) 120. Thus, the on-time extension utilized by the controller 138 to determine the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 may remove more charge from the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 than a controller without on-time extension. As a result the discharging of the filter capacitor C_(F) 120 helps to pull down the voltage at the primary winding 110 which may help the controller 138 to detect the zero-crossing of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102.

Referring next to FIG. 6, a functional block diagram of an example switching power supply utilizing a dimmer circuit 608 is shown including ac input voltage V_(AC) 102, energy transfer element T1 108, primary winding 110 of the energy transfer element T1 108, secondary winding 112 of the energy transfer element T1 108, switch S1 114, input return 116, clamp circuit 118, filter capacitor C_(F) 120, controller 138, drive signal 140, current sense input signal 142, and switch current I_(D) 144. In addition, the switching power supply further includes a rectifier 604, a rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606, a dimmer circuit 608, and a dimmer output voltage V_(DO) 610. It should be appreciated that the switching power supply shown in FIG. 6 is similar to the switching power supply 100 shown in FIG. 1 with the added dimmer circuit 608.

The energy transfer element T1 108, primary winding 110 of the energy transfer element T1 108, secondary winding 112 of the energy transfer element T1 108, switch S1 114, input return 116, clamp circuit 118, filter capacitor C_(F) 120, controller 138, drive signal 140, current sense input signal 142, and switch current I_(D) 144 couple and function as described above. The dimmer circuit 608 couples to the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and produces the dimmer output voltage V_(DO) 610. The dimmer circuit 608 further couples to the rectifier 604. Rectifier 604 receives the dimmer output voltage V_(DO) 610 and outputs the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606. As shown in FIG. 6, the rectifier 604 is coupled across the filter capacitor C_(F) 120. For some embodiments of the present invention, the rectifier 604 is a bridge rectifier as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The dimmer circuit 608 may be utilized when the load 126 coupled to the power supply is a light emitting diode (LED) array to limit the amount of power delivered to the power supply. As a result, the current delivered to the load of LED arrays is limited and the LED array dims. In one embodiment, the dimmer circuit 608 is a phase dimmer circuit. In another embodiment, a triac dimmer circuit may be utilized as the dimmer circuit 608. The triac dimmer disconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 from the power supply when the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 crosses zero voltage. After a given amount of time, the triac dimmer reconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 with the power supply. Depending on the amount of dimming wanted, the triac dimmer controls the amount of time the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is disconnected from the power supply. In general, more dimming corresponds to a longer period of time during which the triac dimmer disconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the controller 138 utilizes the switch current I_(D) 144 to determine when the zero-crossing condition exists for the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and generates the zero-crossing signal. FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 and subsequent zero-crossing signal.

FIG. 7A illustrates the example waveform of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 shown in FIG. 6 including half line cycle 702, zero-crossing voltage threshold 704, a peak voltage V_(P) 705, and portion 706. FIG. 7B illustrates the portion 706 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 and the corresponding zero-crossing signal 708. The half line cycle 702, zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704, and zero-crossing signal 708 are further examples of the half line cycle 202, zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 204, and zero-crossing signal 208 of FIGS. 2A and 2B.

As discussed above, the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is a sinusoidal waveform with the period of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 referred to as a full line cycle. Mathematically: V_(AC)(t)=V_(P) sin(2πf_(L)t). Where V_(P) 705 is the peak voltage of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 and f_(L), is the frequency of the line input voltage. The rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is the resultant output of the bridge rectifier 606 and the dimming circuit 608. For the example of FIG. 7A, the voltage level at the beginning of each half line cycle 702 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is substantially equal to zero voltage corresponding to when the dimmer circuit 608 disconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 from the power supply. When the dimmer circuit 608 reconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 to the power supply, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 substantially follows the positive magnitude of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102. Or mathematically: V_(RECT)=|V_(DO)|.

Similar to FIG. 2A, for some embodiments the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704 is substantially equal to zero. For other embodiments, the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704 is substantially one fifth of the peak voltage V_(P) 705 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606. In one example, if the peak voltage V_(P) 705 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is substantially equal to 125 V, the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704 is substantially equal to 25 V. In another embodiment, the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704 is substantially one fourth of the peak voltage V_(P) 705 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606. It should be appreciated that as the value of the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704 is closer to zero voltage, the more accurate the zero-crossing signal 708. However, as discussed above with regards to FIG. 2A a non-zero value may be chosen for the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704.

FIG. 7B illustrates the portion 706 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 and the corresponding zero-crossing signal 708. Embodiments of the present invention indirectly sense the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 to produce the zero-crossing signal 708. When the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is less than the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704, the zero-crossing signal 708 indicates that the zero-crossing condition exists. The zero-crossing signal 708 is a rectangular pulse waveform with logic high and logic low sections. For the example illustrated in FIG. 7B, when the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is less than the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704, the value of the zero-crossing signal 708 is logic high. When the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is greater than the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 704, the value of the zero-crossing signal 708 is logic low.

As mentioned above with respect to FIG. 2B, detecting when the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is near zero voltage corresponds to detecting when the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 crosses zero voltage. In comparing the zero-crossing signal 708 shown in FIG. 7B to the zero-crossing signal 208 shown in FIG. 2B, the zero-crossing pulse T_(Z) 710 of FIG. 7B is longer than the zero-crossing pulse T_(Z) 210 of FIG. 2B due to the disconnection of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 by dimmer circuit 608. As mentioned above, the amount of dimming wanted corresponds to the length of time during which the dimmer circuit 608 disconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 from the power supply. The longer the dimmer circuit 608 keeps the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 disconnected from the power supply, the longer the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is substantially equal to zero voltage. As a result, the length of the zero-crossing pulse T_(Z) 710 corresponds to the amount of dimming provided by the dimmer circuit 608.

Referring next to FIG. 8A, another example waveform of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 is illustrated including half line cycle 802, zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 804, peak voltage V_(P) 805, and portion 806. FIG. 8B illustrates the portion 806 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 and the corresponding zero-crossing signal 808.

The example waveform of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 is similar to the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 shown in FIG. 7A. In the example of FIG. 7A, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is the result of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 which has passed through dimmer circuit 608 and rectifier 604. As mentioned with regards to FIGS. 6, 7A and 7B, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 606 is the result of the dimmer circuit 608, such as a triac dimmer, which disconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 at the beginning of every half line cycle 802. However, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B is a result of a dimmer circuit 608 disconnecting the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 at the end of every half line cycle 802. As a result the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 is substantially equal to zero voltage at the end of the half line cycle 802. At the beginning of the half line cycle 802, the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 substantially follows the positive magnitude of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 until the dimmer circuit 608 disconnects the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 from the power supply. The value of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 then discharges to substantially zero voltage until the beginning of the next half line cycle.

FIG. 8B illustrates the portion 806 of the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 and the corresponding zero-crossing signal 808. The ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 is indirectly sensed through the switch current I_(D) 144 to produce the zero-crossing signal 808. When the rectified voltage V_(RECT) 801 is less than the zero-crossing voltage threshold V_(ZC) 804, the zero-crossing signal 808 indicates that the zero-crossing condition exists.

In comparing the zero-crossing signal 808 shown in FIG. 8B to the zero-crossing signal 208 shown in FIG. 2B, the zero-crossing pulse T_(Z) 810 of FIG. 8B is longer than the zero-crossing pulse T_(Z) 210 of FIG. 2B due to the disconnection of the ac input voltage V_(AC) 102 by dimmer circuit 608. In comparing the zero-crossing signal 808 shown in FIG. 8B to the zero-crossing signal 708 shown in FIG. 7B, the zero-crossing pulse T_(Z) 810 of FIG. 8B occurs towards the end of the half line cycle 802 rather than at the beginning of the half line cycle 802 as shown in FIG. 7B.

Referring next to FIG. 9A, a functional block diagram of a controller 938 is illustrated including feedback signal U_(FB) 930, drive signal 940, current sense signal 942, a drive logic block 902, an on-time extension block 904, a zero-crossing detector 906, a zero-crossing signal 908, and a zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924. The zero-crossing detector 906 further includes a clock signal 910, a comparator 914, a reference signal 916, an AND gate 917, an S-R latch 918, a flip-flop 922, and an optional zero-crossing filter 926. The controller 938, feedback signal U_(FB) 930, drive signal 940, and current sense signal 942 are examples of the controller 138, feedback signal U_(FB) 130, drive signal 140, and current sense signal 142 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6. In addition, the zero-crossing signal 908 is one example of the zero-crossing signal shown in FIGS. 2, 4A, 4B, 7B and 8B. In one example, drive logic block 902 and on-time extension block 904 may be referred to herein collectively as a drive signal generator. Signal annotations drive logic output DLO 950, zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924, and comparator output CO 952 are also shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B. The waveforms of the respective signals are illustrated in FIG. 10.

The controller 938, feedback signal U_(FB) 930, drive signal 940, and current sense signal 942 couple and function as described above. Within the controller 938, the drive logic block 902 couples to the on-time extension block 904 and the zero-crossing detector 906. The drive logic block 902 receives the current sense signal 942 and the feedback signal U_(FB) 930 and outputs a drive logic output DLO 950 to the on-time extension block 904. The drive logic block 902 further couples to the zero-crossing detector 906 and receives the zero-crossing signal 908. The zero-crossing detector 906 couples to and receives the current sense signal 942. As will be explained further, the zero-crossing detector 906 receives the current sense signal 942 and outputs the zero-crossing signal 908 to the drive logic block 902.

The drive logic block 902 utilizes the feedback signal U_(FB) 930, current sense signal 942, and the zero-crossing signal 908 to generate the drive logic output signal DLO 950 which provides information regarding the state of the drive signal 940 and the state of the controller 938 to the on-time extension block 904. The on-time extension block 904 further couples to the zero-crossing detector 906 and receives the output of the comparator 914, herein referred to as comparator output CO 952. In addition, on-time extension block 904 receives the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924. The zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 is a rectangular pulse waveform with logic high and logic low sections. The length of the logic low section is substantially equal to the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) 506 and the length of time between consecutive falling edges of the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 is substantially equal to the switching period T_(S).

The on-time extension block 904 utilizes the received drive logic output DLO 950, zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924, and the comparator output CO 952 to output the drive signal 940. As mentioned above, the drive signal 940 is utilized to control the switching of the switch of the power supply (e.g., switch S1 114 of FIG. 1). The drive signal 940 is also received by the flip-flop 922 of the zero-crossing detector 906. In addition, the on-time extension block 904 implements the on-time extension discussed with respect to FIG. 5.

The drive logic block 902 receives information regarding the switch current I_(D) 144 from the current sense signal 942 and information regarding the output quantity U_(O) from the feedback signal U_(FB) 930 along with the zero-crossing signal 908. Utilizing this information, the drive logic block 902 provides information regarding the intended drive signal to control the turning on and turning off of the switch S1 114. In one example, the drive logic block 902 may utilize the current sense signal 942 to determine when the switch current I_(D) 144 reaches the current limit threshold I_(LIM) 402 to turn off switch S1 114. The drive logic output DLO 950 is received by the on-time extension block 904 along with the comparator output CO 952 and the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924. As will be further discussed, depending on the value of the comparator output CO 952 and the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924, the on-time extension block 904 may extend the on-time of the intended drive signal provided by the drive logic block 902.

The zero-crossing detector 906 further includes the comparator 914 which receives the current sense signal 942 and the reference signal 916. In the example of FIG. 9A, the comparator 914 receives the current sense signal 942 at the non-inverting input of the comparator 914 and the reference signal 916 at the inverting input of the comparator 914. Thus, in one embodiment, the current sense signal 942 being less than reference signal 916 (and thus the output of the comparator 914 being low) may indicate the presence of a zero-crossing condition. The current sense signal 942 and the reference signal 916 may be a current signal or a voltage signal. The current sense signal 942 provides information regarding the switch current I_(D) 144. When the current sense signal 942 is a current signal, the reference signal 916 may be the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and the comparator 914 is a current comparator. As mentioned above, the switch current I_(D) 144 may be sensed in a variety of ways, such as for example the voltage across a discrete resistor or the voltage across a transistor when the transistor is conducting. For those examples the current sense signal 942 is a voltage signal. When the current sense signal 942 is a voltage signal, the reference signal 916 is a reference voltage that corresponds to the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 and the comparator 914 is a voltage comparator.

The comparator 914 is further coupled to the AND gate 917 and the on-time extension block 904. The output of the comparator 914 is received by the on-time extension block 904. The AND gate 917 is also coupled to receive the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924. The circle coupled to the input of the AND gate 917 which receives the comparator output CO 952 indicates that an inverter is coupled between the comparator 914 and the AND gate 917 such that the AND gate 917 receives the inverted comparator output CO 952. For example, the output of the AND gate 917 is at the logic high value when the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 is at the logic high value and the comparator output CO 952 is at the logic low value (corresponding to the inverted comparator output CO 952 at the logic high value).

The S-R latch 918 receives the output of the AND gate 917 at the reset input, herein also referred to as the R-input of the S-R latch 918. In addition, the S-R latch 918 receives the clock signal 910 at the set input, herein also referred to as the S-input. The clock signal 910 provides information regarding the switching period T_(S) and in some embodiments may come from an oscillator (not shown). The clock signal 910 is a rectangular pulse signal with varying lengths of logic high and logic low sections. The length of time between consecutive rising edges of the clock signal 910 is substantially equal to the switching period T_(S). Once the clock signal 910 pulses to the logic high value, the clock signal 910 quickly falls to the logic low value. As such, the S-R latch 918 is set at rising edge of the clock signal 910. However, the S-R latch 918 resets when the output of AND gate 917 is at the logic high value. In other words, the latch 918 resets when the comparator output CO 952 indicates that the switch current I_(D) 144 provided by current sense signal 942 has not exceeded the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 provided by the reference signal 916. In the example of FIG. 9A, the output of the S-R latch 918 is taken from the Q-bar output. As such, when the S-R latch 918 is set, the output of the S-R latch 918 is the logic low value. When the S-R latch 918 is reset, the output of the S-R latch is the logic high value.

The flip-flop 922 couples to the S-R latch 918 and receives the output of the S-R latch 918. In one embodiment, the flip-flop 922 is a D flip-flop. The flip-flop 922 receives the output of latch 918 at the D-input. In addition, the flip-flop 922 receives the drive signal 940 at the clock input. The drive signal 940 is a rectangular pulse waveform with varying lengths of logic high and logic low sections. In one embodiment, switch S1 114 being closed (i.e. ON) corresponds to a logic high value of the drive signal 940 while switch S1 114 being open (i.e. OFF) corresponds to a logic low value of the drive signal 940. The circle coupled to the clock input of the flip-flop 922 indicates that the flip flop 922 updates at the falling edge of the drive signal 940. In other words, the output of the flip-flop 922 updates when the switch S1 114 turns OFF. The flip-flop 922 is further coupled to the zero-crossing filter 926. As illustrated, the zero-crossing filter 926 receives the output of the flip-flop 922 and outputs the zero-crossing signal 908. The output of the flip-flop 922 is substantially equal to the zero-crossing signal 908, however, the zero-crossing filter 926 is coupled to reduce the noise of the output of the flip-flop 922. In addition, the zero-crossing filter 926 implements the number N discussed above by preventing the zero-crossing signal 908 from indicating that the zero-crossing condition exists unless N number of consecutive switching cycles have a possible zero-crossing condition. However, when N is equal to 1, the zero-crossing filter 926 may be omitted from the zero-crossing detector 906.

At the beginning of switching period T_(S), the current sense signal 942 is less than the reference signal 916 and as such the output of comparator 914 is logic low. In other words, at the beginning of switching period T_(S), the switch current I_(D) 144 is less than the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404. The clock signal 910 pulses to the logic high value at the beginning of the switching period T_(S) and the output of the S-R latch 918 is set to the logic low value. The clock signal 910 quickly pulses to the logic low value and the S-R latch 918 holds the previous value. For this example, the S-R latch 918 holds the logic low value.

The flip-flop 922 updates when the switch S1 114 opens (i.e. is OFF). In other words, the flip-flop 922 updates the output of the flip-flop 922 to mirror the D-input of the flip-flop 922 at the falling edge of the drive signal 940. In general, a D flip-flop updates at the rising edge of the clock input. However, with the circle at the clock input of the flip-flop 922 to denote an inverter, the flip-flop 922 updates at the falling edge of the drive signal 940.

If the switch current I_(D) 144 provided by the current sense signal 942 does not exceed the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 provided by the reference signal 916 before the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) provided by the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 is reached (or in other words before the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 transitions to the logic high value), the zero-crossing condition is detected and the output of the AND gate 917 is the logic high value. The logic high output of the AND gate 917 resets the S-R latch 918 and the output of the S-R latch 918 is the logic high value. At the falling edge of the drive signal 940, the flip-flop 922 updates and the output of the flip-flop 922 forwards the logic high output of the S-R latch 918. In one example the output of the flip-flop 922 is filtered by the zero-crossing filter 926 and the resultant zero-crossing signal 908 is a logic high value. In one embodiment, the output of the zero-crossing filter 926 is updated after the delay time t_(X) 436 as discussed with respect to FIG. 4B. In another embodiment, the output of the zero-crossing filter 926 is updated at the next switching cycle. In addition, the zero-crossing filter 926 may implement the N number of consecutive switching cycles with a possible zero-crossing condition before the zero-crossing detector 906 decides that the zero-crossing condition exists. In one embodiment, zero-crossing filter 926 may include logic circuits to count the number of consecutive switching cycles where the output of flip-flop 922 is a logic high value. Thus, in one embodiment, the zero-crossing filter 926 may output the zero-crossing signal 908 that indicates the presence of a zero-crossing condition only after N number of possible zero-crossing conditions has occurred, as was described above with reference to FIG. 4B. In one embodiment, the zero-crossing filter 926 may utilize flip-flops and a multiplexer to implement the number N. In another embodiment the zero-crossing filter 926 may utilize a counter to implement the number N. In some embodiments, the delay time t_(X) 436 discussed with respect to FIG. 4B may be due to the components utilized for the zero-crossing filter 926. For embodiments of the present invention, a delay time t_(X) 436 of zero may be preferred. However, embodiments of controller 938 that include a delay time t_(X) 436 of zero may require additional circuitry (not shown). Thus, some embodiments of controller 938 may include a non-zero delay time t_(X) 436 to reduce costs and/or circuit complexity.

If the switch current I_(D) 144 provided by the current sense signal 942 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) 404 provided by the reference signal 916 before the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) provided by the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 is reached (or in other words before the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924 transitions to the logic high value), the zero-crossing condition is not detected and the output of the AND gate 917 is the logic low value. The S-R latch 918 is not reset and the logic low value of the S-R latch 918 is forwarded to the output of the flip-flop 922 at the falling edge of the drive signal 940. In one example, the output of the flip-flop 922 is filtered by the zero-crossing filter 926 and the resultant zero-crossing signal 908 is at the logic low value. In one embodiment, the zero-crossing filter 926 updates its output after the delay time t_(X) 436. as discussed with respect to FIG. 4B. In another embodiment, the output of the zero-crossing filter 926 is updated at the next switching cycle. In addition, the zero-crossing filter 926 may implement the N number of consecutive switching cycles with no zero-crossing condition before the zero-crossing detector 906 decides that the zero-crossing condition no longer exists. For example, zero-crossing filter 926 may include logic circuits to count the number of consecutive switching cycles where the output of flip-flop 922 is a logic low value. Thus, in one embodiment, the zero-crossing filter 926 may output the zero-crossing signal 908 that indicates that the zero-crossing condition no longer exists only after N number of switching cycles with no zero-crossing condition, as was described above with reference to FIG. 4B.

Referring next to FIG. 9B, a block diagram of the on-time extension block 904 is illustrated including zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924, drive signal 940, drive logic output DLO 950, comparator output CO 952, an optional monostable multivibrator 954, an inverter 964, a S-R latch 958, an OR gate 960, a falling edge delay 961 and an AND gate 968. In addition, FIG. 9B illustrates signal annotations A 962, B 970, C 956 and inverted drive logic output DLO 966. The waveforms of the respective signals are illustrated in FIG. 10.

The zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924, drive signal 940, drive logic output DLO 950, and the comparator output CO 952 couple and function as described above. In addition, the on-time extension block 904 may optionally include monostable multivibrator 954 which couples to and receives the drive logic output DLO 950. As described above, the drive logic output DLO 950 provides the on-time extension block 904 with information regarding the state of the controller and the intended drive signal. The drive logic output DLO 950 is a rectangular pulse waveform with varying lengths of logic high and logic low sections and the length of time between consecutive rising edges is substantially equal to the switching period T_(S). The monostable multivibrator 954 receives the drive logic output DLO 950 and generates a pulse at every rising edge of the drive logic output DLO 950. The output of monostable multivibrator 954 is denoted as signal C 956, the example waveform of which is illustrated in FIG. 10 as waveform C 1056. Monostable multivibrator 954 couples to the S-R latch 958. For the example shown in FIG. 9B, the monostable multivibrator 954 couples to the S-input of the S-R latch 958. The S-R latch 958 receives the output of the monostable multivibrator 954, signal C 956, at the S-input. In another embodiment, signal C 956 may be generated by an oscillator (not shown).

In addition, the on-time extension block 904 couples to the comparator output 952 and the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924. The comparator output 952 is received by the falling edge delay 961 which delays the falling edge of the comparator output 952 by a delay time of t_(D). The falling edge delay 961 further couples to the OR gate 960 and the output of the falling edge delay 961, denoted as signal CO, is received at one input of the OR gate 960. The other input of the OR gate 960 receives the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 924. The OR gate 960 further couples to the AND gate 968 and the output of the OR gate 960, denoted as signal A 962, is received at one input of AND gate 968.

In addition, the AND gate 968 also couples to inverter 964. The inverter 964 couples to and receives the drive logic output DLO 950. Inverted drive logic output DLO 966 is outputted from the inverter 964 and received by AND gate 968. The AND gate 968 further couples to the R-input of the S-R latch 958. The output of the AND gate 968, denoted as signal B 970, is received at the R-input of S-R latch 958. The S-R latch 958 utilizes the values at the S-input and the R-input to output the drive signal 940.

As shown in FIG. 9B, when the comparator output CO 952 indicates that the switch current I_(D) 144 is less than the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC), the output of the OR gate 960 may block the AND gate 968 from resetting the S-R latch 958. In other words, when the comparator output CO 952 indicates that the switch current I_(D) 144 is less than the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC), the output of the OR gate 960 may block the S-R latch 958 from outputting a logic low value and thus extending the on-time of the switch S1 114. As will be further illustrated in FIG. 10, the output of the OR gate 960 blocks the S-R latch 958 from resetting, thus extending the on-time of the switch S1 114, until the comparator output CO 952 indicates that the switch current I_(D) 144 has reached the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) or the zero-crossing time current threshold ZCP 924 indicates that the zero-crossing time threshold t_(ZC) is reached. However, if the switch current I_(D) 144 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) during the initial switch on-time provided by the drive logic output DLO 950, or in other words when the drive logic output DLO 950 is at a logic high value, the S-R latch 958 resets at the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 950 since the drive logic output DLO 950 provides information regarding the intended drive signal and the output of AND gate 968 will only reset the S-R latch 958 when both of its inputs are simultaneously logic high. The various waveforms of the signals discussed with regards to FIGS. 9A and 9B are illustrated in FIG. 10.

Referring next to FIG. 10, various waveforms corresponding to FIGS. 9A and 9B are illustrated. FIG. 10 illustrates the differences between the various waveforms of the controller 938 and on-time extension block 904 to implement on-time extension for zero-crossing detection. Example waveforms I_(D) 1044, DLO 1050, DLO 1066, CO 1052, ZCP 1024, A 1062, B 1070, C 1056, and drive signal 1040 correspond to the switch current I_(D) 144, drive logic output DLO 950, inverter drive logic output DLO 966, falling edge delayed comparator output CO, zero-crossing time current threshold ZCP 924, and signal annotations A 962, B 970, C 956 and drive signal 940. In addition, FIG. 10 illustrates switching cycles 1002, 1004 and 1006. As illustrated, each switching cycle has a switching period of T_(S).

For the example shown in FIG. 10, at the beginning of every switching cycle the drive logic output DLO 1050 is at the logic high value. In addition, the comparator output CO 1052 is at the logic low value since the switch current I_(D) 1044 is less than the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC). The zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 1024 is at the logic low value at the beginning of every switching cycle. The output of the OR gate 960, waveform A 1062, is at the logic low value. The AND gate 968 receives the logic low value of waveform A 1062 and the inverted drive logic output DLO 1066 (currently at the logic low value) and as a result the waveform B 1070 is the logic low value at the beginning of every switching cycle. The monostable multivibrator 954 receives the drive logic output DLO 1050 and outputs a logic high pulse shown with waveform C 1056. At the beginning of every switching cycle, the waveform C 1056 is at the logic high value while the waveform B 1070 is at the logic low value. As a result the S-R latch 958 outputs the drive signal 1040 at the logic high value and the switch S1 114 turns on and the switch current I_(D) 1044 begins to increase. The waveform C 1056 quickly falls to the logic low value and the S-R latch 958 holds the previous value. At the beginning of every switching cycle, the S-R latch 958 holds the logic high value and the switch S1 114 remains on. However, S-R latch 958 outputs the logic low value and therefore turns switch S1 114 off when waveform B 1070 at the R-input pulses to the logic high value. The various conditions which waveform B 1070 pulses to the logic high value will be further discussed below.

At switching cycle 1002, the switch current I_(D) 1044 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) during the initial on-time t_(ON) provided by the drive logic output DLO 1050. Or in other words, the switch current I_(D) 1044 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) before the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 1050. When the switch current I_(D) 1044 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) the comparator output CO 1052 transitions to the logic high value. For switching cycle 1002, waveform ZCP 1024 is still at the logic low value when the comparator output CO 1052 transitions to the logic high value, as a result waveform A 1062 transitions to the logic high value. For the example switching cycle 1002, waveform B 1070 pulses to the logic high value when the drive logic output DLO 1050 transitions to the logic low value since the AND gate 968 receives the inverted drive logic output DLO 1066 due to inverter 964. In other words, waveform B 1070 transitions to the logic high value when the inverted drive logic output DLO 1066 transitions to the logic high value. At the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 1050, waveform B transitions to the logic high value and the S-R latch 958 is reset and the drive signal 1040 falls to the logic low value. As such the switch S1 114 turns off and the switch current I_(D) 1044 falls substantially to zero. When the switch current I_(D) 1044 falls below the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC), the comparator output CO 1052 falls to the logic low value. However, the falling edge of the comparator output CO 1052 is delayed by a delay time of t_(D) due to the falling edge delay 961.

At switching cycle 1004, the switch current I_(D) 1044 does not exceed the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) during the initial on-time t_(ON) provided by the drive logic output DLO 1050 and the controller extends the on-time of the switch S1 114. Or in other words, the switch current I_(D) 1044 does not exceed the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) before the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 1050 and the comparator output CO 1052 remains at the logic low value. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the extended on-time t_(ONX) is the length of time between the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 1050 and when the switch S1 114 turns off. In other words, the extended on-time t_(ONX) is the length of time between the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 1050 and the falling edge of the drive signal 1040. In addition, the switch current I_(D) 1044 does exceed the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) before the rising edge of the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 1024. When the switch current I_(D) 1044 exceeds the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC), the comparator output CO 1052 pulses to the logic high value and the OR gate 960 outputs the logic high value (illustrated in FIG. 10 as waveform A 1062 transitioning to the logic high value). One input of the AND gate 968 receives the logic high value from waveform A 1062 and the other input of the AND gate 968 receives the logic high value from the inverted drive logic output DLO 1066. As a result, waveform B 1070 transitions to the logic high value and resets the latch 958. The drive signal 1040 falls to the logic low value and turns switch S1 114 off and the switch current I_(D) 1044 falls substantially to zero. When the switch current I_(D) 1044 falls below the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC), the comparator output CO 1052 falls to the logic low value. However, the falling edge of the comparator output CO 1052 is delayed by a delay time of t_(D) due to the falling edge delay 961.

At switching cycle 1006, the switch current I_(D) 1044 does not exceed the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) during the initial on-time t_(ON) provided by the drive logic output DLO 1050 and the controller extends the on-time of the switch S1 114. In addition, the switch current I_(D) 1044 does not exceed the zero-crossing current threshold I_(ZC) before the rising edge of the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 1024. As shown, the extended on-time t_(ONX) is the length of time between the falling edge of the drive logic output DLO 1050 and when the switch S1 114 turns off. The comparator output CO 1052 remains at the logic low value for the entire switching cycle 1006. Waveform A, therefore, transitions to the logic high value at the rising edge of the zero-crossing time threshold pulse ZCP 1024. When waveform ZCP 1024 transitions to the logic high value, waveform B 1070 will transition to a logic high value, the S-R latch 958 then resets and the drive signal 1040 falls to the logic low value and turns switch S1 114 off and the switch current I_(D) 1044 falls substantially to zero.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, examples and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A controller for use in a power supply having a switch coupled to an energy transfer element, the controller comprising: a first circuit coupled to receive a first signal representative of a switch current flowing through the switch, wherein the first circuit is configured to generate a second signal in response the switch current not reaching a current threshold within an amount of time, and wherein the second signal indicates when a dimming circuit at an input of the power supply is utilized; a second circuit coupled to receive the first signal, the second signal, and a feedback signal, wherein the second circuit is coupled to generate a drive signal to control switching of the switch; and a third circuit coupled to receive the drive signal and increase a duration of the drive signal in response to the switch current not reaching the current threshold within the amount of time.
 2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the second signal indicates an amount of an ac line input voltage of the power supply that has been removed by the dimming circuit.
 3. The controller of claim 1, wherein the second signal pulses in response to the switch current not reaching the current threshold within the amount of time.
 4. The controller of claim 3, wherein a length of the pulse corresponds to an amount of an ac line input voltage of the power supply that has been removed by the dimming circuit.
 5. The controller of claim 1, wherein the current threshold and the amount of time are both fixed.
 6. The controller of claim 1, wherein the amount of time is longer than a smallest intended on-time of the switch.
 7. The controller of claim 1, wherein the dimming circuit is a phase dimming circuit.
 8. The controller of claim 1, wherein the first circuit is configured to generate the second signal only in response to the switch current not reaching the current threshold within the amount of time for an N number of consecutive switching periods of the switch, wherein N is greater than zero.
 9. A power supply, comprising: an energy transfer element; a switch coupled to the energy transfer element; and a controller coupled to the switch, wherein the controller includes: a first circuit coupled to receive a first signal representative of a switch current flowing through the switch, wherein the first circuit is configured to generate a second signal in response the switch current not reaching a current threshold within an amount of time, and wherein the second signal indicates when a dimming circuit at an input of the power supply is utilized; a second circuit coupled to receive the first signal, the second signal, and a feedback signal, wherein the second circuit is coupled to generate a drive signal to control switching of the switch; and a third circuit coupled to receive the drive signal and increase a duration of the drive signal in response to the switch current not reaching the current threshold within the amount of time.
 10. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the second signal indicates an amount of an ac line input voltage of the power supply that has been removed by the dimming circuit.
 11. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the second signal pulses in response to the switch current not reaching the current threshold within the amount of time.
 12. The power supply of claim 11, wherein a length of the pulse corresponds to an amount of an ac line input voltage of the power supply that has been removed by the dimming circuit.
 13. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the current threshold and the amount of time are both fixed.
 14. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the amount of time is longer than a smallest intended on-time of the switch.
 15. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the dimming circuit is a phase dimming circuit.
 16. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the first circuit is configured to generate the second signal only in response to the switch current not reaching the current threshold within the amount of time for an N number of consecutive switching periods of the switch, wherein N is greater than zero.
 17. The power supply of claim 9, wherein the switch and the controller are included together in an integrated circuit. 